Overview

An intriguing saga of lost love and hidden family connections unfolds amidst myths and superstitions. Clorinda is a solitary young woman who freelances as a seamstress in a small desert town where things rarely change. Friendless and eccentric, she dresses in her 'calendar wardrobe' as she collects donations of used clothing from which she creates simple works of art. Clorinda becomes hopelessly distracted when an elderly gentleman moves in across the street. He is elegant and worldly and he looks like Clark Gable from the movie poster downtown. Obsessed, she sets off to know more, and when he finally befriends her, the story of his life and the truth behind their relationship is slowly revealed. With the chance that it may be lost forever, the biggest secret hides behind a simple marker at the old man's tomb and is caught among the crazy threads of Clorinda's weaving. Dipping into some of Chile's rich history around the time of Pinochet's regime, SOUTH OF CENTRE unravels through multiple narratives and is doused in magic realism. The story raises questions about social justice and other things that we may never quite get to the bottom of.

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9780988003248

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Reviews

"""I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. [The author] has captured life in northern Chile to a tee. She has very successfully woven local stories of townspeople, gypsies, miners, and political events into a charming and most unlikely tale of love. A great read!"" ""I loved this story from the first page [....] The characters are wonderfully full and the place, well it's a strange and wonderful town full of comedy and love. The writer really knows how to make you laugh, but at the same time there's a serious emotional story that spans many years."""

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. [The author] has captured life in northern Chile to a tee. She has very successfully woven local stories of townspeople, gypsies, miners, and political events into a charming and most unlikely tale of love. A great read! I loved this story from the first page [....] The characters are wonderfully full and the place, well it's a strange and wonderful town full of comedy and love. The writer really knows how to make you laugh, but at the same time there's a serious emotional story that spans many years.

Author Information

""Our stories are our most valuable asset. They define us. They are our legacy."" Edie Ayala is a baby boomer from a small logging town in British Columbia. As a girl, she once broke into a neighbour's house to play on their typewriter. She was the creative fort-builder, the abandoned mine-shaft explorer and the tree climber. She has never lost this spirit of curiosity and the search for the small things that might change a day... or a life. Just before Y2K, she made a trip to South America and it was a turning point. Married to a Chilean from the Atacama region, they decided to make Santiago, Chile their home and they've been there ever since. Their grown children are all settled in different cities in Canada and the UK. Edie writes character-driven novels. Her first, South of Centre is a saga sent in nothern Chile in and around the time of the Pinochet regime. With all of its myths and superstitions, it seeks to get to the bottom of various tangled family relationships. The second Hard Bed Hotel is a humorous love story where confusion between the living and the dead takes you on an eventful romp through Santiago's more 'popular' neighborhoods. Her third novel, Threads takes a hard look at the global business of fast fashion. Two women on opposite ends of the globe are connected through love and loss.

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